Mahindra Auto for the longest has been regarded as the top utility manufacturer in India and its newest lifestyle off-roader the Thar has created a huge market for itself. Although to give this mighty SUV a run for its money the country’s largest PV carmaker Maruti Suzuki has launched its more practical, more agile, and more affordable Jimny five-door. However, Mahindra is one of those automakers who will not let its market share slip so easily, and in its attempt to lure in more customers it is planning to launch the more practical 5-door iteration of the Thar. Recent reports have now emerged stating that Mahindra will be launching the five-door Thar with a ton of drivetrain options.
Over the past few months we have seen numerous test mules of the five-door Thar testing across the entire country and every time, a few new highlights come to the news. This time around it has been reported that with the Thar 5-door, Mahindra intends to offer a variety of engine and drivetrain configurations from the get-go.
Also read: Buying a pre-owned Mahindra Thar is better than buying a new one: 5 reasons
According to sources, it will retain the 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol and 2.2-liter diesel engines from the Thar 3-door, both of which will be available with manual and automatic transmissions. Furthermore, the latest spy images also show that there is no 4×4 lever on the centre console, indicating that a Thar 5-door 4X2 that may be equipped with both the petrol and diesel engines is also in the works.
Mahindra is reportedly developing the 2WD five door Thar in an attempt to give a stiffer competition to Maruti Suzuki Jimny which has been recently unveiled. The company is planning to target a bigger practical vehcile segment with this 2WD Thar. Reports have also claimed that Mahindra will be tuning the Thar five doors engine similar to the recently released Scoprio-N to give it a bump in power and performance.
Apart from these mechanical changes, the SUV will pretty much retain the same aesthetics as the three door Thar with the addition of two middle doors. It is also anticipated that the five door Thar with these two new doors will receive around 300 mm wheelbase. As per the reports Mahindra could also create new body panels for the five-door Thar because it could also increase the width of the car to maintain better stability. This will be done to create proportional width to wheelbase ratio.
Meanwhile in terms of the interior the SUV will not receive any substantial changes to the layout or design of the dashboard. Although reports have speculated that the forthcoming five door model of the Thar could come equipped with an improved infotainment system along with a front centre armrest and a sunglass holder.
As for the launch date of the new five door Thar it is anticipated that the SUV could be making its debut sometime around June 2023. In terms of pricing we can expect the Thar five door to be launched in range of Rs 14-15 lakh.
Also read: 10 DC Design cars & how they look in the REAL world: Maruti Swift to Mahindra XUV500